The demand for compact camera systems delivering high performance is increasing with the growing use of imaging systems in a wide variety of applications. Such applications are found in areas such as consumer electronics, machine vision, automotive, and medical diagnostics and procedures.
Medical endoscopes used to examine an interior part of the human body constitute an example with challenging requirements to the size of the camera system. The camera system, including at least an image sensor, optics, and electronics, must fit within the area to be examined. Preferably, the camera system is sufficiently compact that there is room for navigating the camera to inspect the environment in a desired direction. Additionally, the camera system is often guided to the area of interest via passageways, such as an artery, which in itself imposes size constraints. Concurrently, the imaging capability and performance of a medical endoscope camera system is essential for reaching the desired outcome of the procedure, for instance an accurate diagnosis or a successful operation. For example, many procedures will benefit from high-resolution imaging to obtain sufficiently detailed information. However, the spatial requirements imposed by the use scenario limits the achievable performance of medical endoscope camera systems. Likewise, the size of endoscope cameras limits the use of medical endoscopes.